EVENT HORIZON

Description:A mission in the year 2047
investigates the experimental American spaceship Event Horizon, which
disappeared seven years previously and suddenly, out of nowhere, reappeared
in the orbit of Neptune. Laurence Fishburne stars as mission commander
Captain Miller and Sam Neill is Dr. Weir, the scientist who designed the
mystery ship. Miller's T-shirt- and army-green-clad crew of smart-talking
pros finds a ship dead and deserted, but further investigations turn up
blood, corpses, dismembered body parts, and a decidedly unearthly presence.
It turns out that the ship is really a space-age haunted house. —
Amazon.com

Besides proving that we
have watched too many crappy movies in our time and should perhaps have spent some of our
leisure time more constructively, perhaps writing poetry or going to ball games, it shows
that the one word that sums up Event Horizon is derivative.

Theres nothing
intrinsically wrong with a movie being derivative - especially if we are to believe
Umberto Ecos definition of cult films as being films that contains elements from
several movies. But Event Horizon isnt aiming for cult status, instead it is
a case of mind-numbingly unimaginative film-making.

"A film that simply tries too hard . . ."

The plot? An experimental
space craft designed for faster-than-light travel disappears for several years before
appearing near Neptune. A small rescue mission is sent to investigate what went wrong. The
disappeared ships empty save for the occasional body part floating around in zero
gravity. The key word in the plot synopsis is body parts. Theres a lot of it. If
youre incredibly squeamish then youre advised to stay clear of Event
Horizon. The film is designed to shock, not scare. Thus, buckets of blood.

One of the most eerie
films I have ever seen is the Russian art house flick, Solaris, a movie from which
Event Horizon "borrows" liberally. Nothing much happens and the pace is
lethargic, but the film leaves you with a lingering sense of unease and mystery. Event
Horizon is its direct ideological opposite: its pace is frenetic and a lot of (mostly
gory) stuff happens. Horror film making 101: the atmosphere created by a film is
important.

What we have here is a
film that tries too hard. All of which is a shame really because the special effects are
very well done, especially a vertigo inducing shot of an enormous space station at the
beginning. Rumors have it that an entire half an hour was cut from Event Horizons
running time. Perhaps with that half an hour reinserted, Event Horizon
will be a better film . . .